About the Author

As a lifelong avid hiker, and past forestry volunteer, my blog is dedicated to sharing Northern California trails with photos, maps, driving directions, difficulty ratings, elevation changes, trail conditions, and related tips. At http://peachyhiker.blogspot.com/, read about everything from swimming in
glacier lakes alongside the melting snow to being stranded overnight in the wilderness. Find trails to hike and backpack in Northern California and related topics. For those unable to get to these places, my goal is to help you experience what I do vicariously. Occasionally other related topics are addressed.

I am here for culture, information, inspiration, wisdom, knowledge, encouragement, humor, and to share some of each with you too.

On Google+ find photos and subject matter I am committed to or sharing for qualities I appreciate.

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Yes, I know it sounds morbid to read a book of accounts of nearly 900 deaths in a forest over all its years in existence, but I learned so much and who knows, one of those lessons may save me either through awareness and knowledge, or throu...

A combination of journal style writing and subject overviews and information about the family's planning and trek on the PCT. Adventures, challenges, pitfalls and successes they experienced and information to help hopeful trekkers succeed ...

Great hikes in and around Georgetown, CA with driving and parking directions, difficulty ratings, features to look for, hand drawn maps, and distances from Georgetown for reference. Nice pocket book to carry along! On the flip side, I woul...

The frightening tale of a man left for dead and his miraculous survival is engaging, alarming, and sometimes I just couldn't put it down. The details of his life, all the way back into his childhood, got a little tedious for me. I found h...

Unmaintained, "PRIMITIVE",marked only with cairns*,

the McConnell Lake Trail helps you find

numerous lakes hidden in the

depths of Desolation Wilderness.

This linkhas an interactive topo map of the lakes you will travel by on this reportedly 8 1/2 mile loop. The trail it shows appears to be hand drawn and is not an exact representation of the trail. We hiked about 15 miles following cairns* across granite, across streams, through woods, and hiking through vegetation with a barely visible, or invisible, trail. If you go now, I do not recommend you follow ANY cairns! According to information taken from my Tom Harrison topo map the trail is closer to 10.5 miles. This is a snapshot of the online interactive map, but please use the link to use the interactive version of this map.

Location: Desolation Wilderness near Wrights Lake Recreation Area, CA, USA.Distance: It can be done in less than 30 miles round trip including the hike from the TH and back. It is recommended backpackers first hike in to Lois or Schmidell Lake, via Rockbound Trail, then get a fresh start the next day. Schmidell Lake is 8.5 miles, depending on your rest stops and side trips along the way. From there it will be no less than 8.5 miles to do the loop,conservatively since every hiker we met reported having trouble keeping on the trail and spent extra time and miles finding it. Cross country side trips are available over to Zitella and Highland Lakes (which we didn't opt for). We recommend allowing at least two or three days, and to backpack the loop rather than day hiking it unless you are traveling with someone who is familiar with the trail.Difficulty: Strenuous and difficult. It requires fitness, skills in using maps, confidence in back country hiking, having exceptional trail finding skills, being comfortable doing cross country hiking, and being prepared for rapidly changing weather conditions common to this area. The terrain varies from loose rocks, giant slabs of steep granite, thick vegetation, creek crossings, (one easy log crossing) through forest, through mountain meadows, and steep "rock stairs" down into Leland Lakes (or up if you do the loop counter clockwise). It is also recommended you be prepared for a workout at elevation where the air is thinner, and more tiring.Driving directions will be posted at the bottom of this post.

View of Schmidell Lake from the trail to Leland lakes.

Leaving the Schmidell Lake basin to Lois Lake.

View of inclement weather that set in when we were at Doris Lakes.

Warning that the trail is difficult, and stock are not able to travel it.

McConnell Lake itself is small and grassy.

We paused here searching for the trail down to the junction with Blakely Trail to get back to Schmidell Lake.

Granite slopes between Horseshoe Lake and the 4-Q Lakes. I wish you could see the
granite in 3-D for a better understanding of the steep hike down it.

Areas with vegetation are not maintained so they are overgrown and look like deer paths.

Another view of the steep granite we had to negotiate to get down to 4 Q Lakes.

A 4-Q Lake

A 4 Q Lake, nice swimming hole, the first going clockwise around the loop.

Horseshoe Lake was grassy and we opted not to even filter water here.

In Nov. 2015 I came across this discussion: "... I'm one of the USFS Desolation Wilderness managers and recently hiked the McConnell Loop this summer and removed every cairn that I came across on the trail. Wilderness for most visitors is about discovering and exploring, not only the challenges and beauty our wild land has to offer, but about how we as visitors travel in it. Seeing sign of other people's passing is not enjoyable or acceptable. We as Wilderness rangers enforce the code of federal regulations and there is a CFR for removing or disturbing any natural feature in a federaly protected Wildernes area. Placing rock cairns along system trails is unnecessary and a blight on the land and against the CFR's .

Our trails are maintained to their designated standard as detailed in our Wilderness plan. The McDonnell loop is a remote trail that is in one of the more isolated areas of the Wilderness and is maintained accordingly to preserve it's Wilderness character.Rock cairns are finding their way into camping and vista areas in the Wilderness and are becoming an increasing problem.The stacking and placing of these rocks can become a safety issue when they are used to create shortcuts off of our trails.Take the time when hiking and look ahead of you, there are subtle signs of where the trail is.Enjoy your hike!

Jon EricksonDesation Wilderness ManagerUSFS"

With cairns this trail was a challenge and took us hours to follow. Your map finding skills ARE ESSENTIAL! This edit was made in November of 2015. Happy Trails!

Early in the season (May- June, please check out road conditions before you go. In June 2016 there are snow drifts crossing the road before the intersection with Ice House Road.)

Driving directions: Take Highway 50 to Wrights (Lake) Road north from the Kyburz area. The Wrights Lake Road will be between Tract 36 and Tract 39 along Highway 50. Follow the signs to Wrights Lake Recreational area. When you get to the Wrights Lake Welcome Cabin and parking lot on your left, go straight ahead following signs to Rockbound Trailhead. There is ample parking and a restroom there. (The trailhead is near the restroom.)

Notes: For backpacking you can get permits online or at a Tahoe or El Dorado National Forest Ranger Station, for a fee. There are no campfires allowed inside the wilderness boundaries and if you fish, be sure to have your regular fishing license with you. Fire permits are still required to use camp stoves.